Newbie needs help selecting a camera.

Years ago I shot a lot of 35mm film with a Minolta.
I am looking for a good( maybe used) DSLR to take on an African safari next year. I need it to shoot good stills as well as good video.
I am sure there are questions that also need to be asked but at this time I don't know what they are.
Any and all help from you will be deeply appreciated.
Thanks

Welcome to PotN

Don't forget the lens. You'll use a telephoto lens (400 mm or longer focal length) on a safari.
I still like (and use) my 7D2, I use a Sigma 50-500 but the 60-600 is newer. The 7D2 is a "crop frame" sensor.
There are many newer cameras that will work for you. Whatever you choose, get it before the safari and practice using it.
I like using Adobe Lightroom, but Canon has software that you can use too. The software allows you to fine-tune and catalog your images.

DSLRs are great, but the future is mirrorless. I don't know if that matters to you. If you are mainly wanting to use it for the trip with little use afterwards, then a used DSLR like the 90D might be suitable. As Jack says, you will need a long lens. They are expensive, so look at different long lens options and do some good shopping. If you might stick with photography afterwards, then consider the Canon R7. Mirrorless is great but expensive.

Besides these possibilities, you could also consider a bridge camera like the Sony RX10.

dSLRs may be a bit 'old hat' to the buying public (keep in mind that still about 50/50 split last year between mirrorless vs. dSLR new bodies), but dSLRs are typically significantly less expensive to buy and outfit...LOTS of used bodies and used lenses, and there are places that have significant inventories of rental lenses...a major consideration when you are going on safari but otherwise have little use for supertelephoto FL. It seems RF lenses are more expensive to buy than 'same' EF lenses, and there are fewer used RF on the market, too.

dSLR bodies like nD have shutter life of 150k or more, so if you find a used body with half that shutter count, it has considerable useful life left.

Consider buying an 'everyday usage' lens for the body, and renting the superlong tele. Or buy a used superlong tele and reselling it after you are done with it; easier to find used EF mount lenses that to find used RF mount lenses. You can always use a mount adapter to use EF tele lens on RF body.

Lastly, until there are more R7s around, you need to select dSLR for the 'reach' attainable with same FL lens, when mounted on a crop format body. While some mirrorless have a crop mode when crop format (e.g EFS) lenses are mounted, there is a significant loss of total pixel count when the body is in crop mode...a native APS-C format body has more pixel density than FF in crop mode.

Wilt wrote in post #19452630
dSLRs may be a bit 'old hat' to the buying public (keep in mind that still about 50/50 split last year between mirrorless vs. dSLR new bodies), but dSLRs are typically significantly less expensive to buy and outfit...LOTS of used bodies and used lenses, and there are places that have significant inventories of rental lenses...a major consideration when you are going on safari but otherwise have little use for supertelephoto FL. It seems RF lenses are more expensive to buy than 'same' EF lenses, and there are fewer used RF on the market, too.

dSLR bodies like nD have shutter life of 150k or more, so if you find a used body with half that shutter count, it has considerable useful life left.

Consider buying an 'everyday usage' lens for the body, and renting the superlong tele. Or buy a used superlong tele and reselling it after you are done with it; easier to find used EF mount lenses that to find used RF mount lenses. You can always use a mount adapter to use EF tele lens on RF body.

Lastly, until there are more R7s around, you need to select dSLR for the 'reach' attainable with same FL lens, when mounted on a crop format body. While some mirrorless have a crop mode when crop format (e.g EFS) lenses are mounted, there is a significant loss of total pixel count when the body is in crop mode...a native APS-C format body has more pixel density than FF in crop mode.

Good options here, although if the original poster (OP) rents the long lens, I still suggest getting the lens ahead of time and getting used to it.
If the OP is only going to use the camera for this trip, the camera can be rented too and get the latest mirrorless features such as eye focus- there's a learning curve for these cameras so again, rent and use before the trip. These people were good when I rented:
https://www.borrowlens​es.com/

Welcome. I shot Minolta too before going digital. As stated mirrorless is the future. That being said are you looking for brand new or used gear? Good deals on used DSLR's and lenses. Brand new I'd look into mirrorless. What is your budget? Are you interested in full frame or crop bodies?

Bruceruth1988 wrote in post #19452577
Years ago I shot a lot of 35mm film with a Minolta.
I am looking for a good( maybe used) DSLR to take on an African safari next year. I need it to shoot good stills as well as good video.
I am sure there are questions that also need to be asked but at this time I don't know what they are.
Any and all help from you will be deeply appreciated.
Thanks

A few questions need to be answered before making any recommendation.
1. Total budget. What are you looking to spend. It would be so easy to recommend a dream setup costing thousands which would be useless of your budget is hundreds.
2. Stills are pretty much all the same these days so any body will do just fine. However, video is a different story. What are your video needs. Do you need 4k? If so, that limits you choices significantly.
3. What do you plan to do with the equipment later? Is this a one-and-done thing. If so, you might conciser renting a setup for the time your there. A lot cheaper than buying.
4. Intended use. Is this for personal consumption/social media type stuff or are you shooting more professionally. If your looking for something to capture memories with stuff being shared on social media, maybe a compact super-zoom might be the right choice. If it something more serious, then other options.
5. What is your weight budget. Are you ok lugging around 20 pounds of camera gear or you want something a lot lighter?
6. What post processing tools are you expecting to use or what do you have currently? Or are you going to limit yourself to straight out of the camera jpegs?

As I mentioned, you can get a really nice, light, capable camera for about $400 to $1000 USD in a compact super-zoom or you can spend several thousand and get a very professional and heavy kit, or a lot of in between. Need more details before recommending anything.

digital paradise wrote in post #19452684
Welcome. I shot Minolta too before going digital. As stated mirrorless is the future. That being said are you looking for brand new or used gear? Good deals on used DSLR's and lenses. Brand new I'd look into mirrorless. What is your budget? Are you interested in full frame or crop bodies?

I don't know the difference between full frames and crop body.
I am probably looking for used but I don't know enough about the digital tech to know for sure.
Any chance I can use my old lenses?

Bruceruth1988 wrote in post #19452949
Any chance I can use my old lenses?

Bruce, I think we have some unrealistic expectations here. Please tell us what your budget is for this, what your existing gear is, how much time you are willing to spend on the decision-making, and how much effort you think you might put in to learning how to use the gear.

Alternatively, go to your local camera or department store and let the salespeople guide you.

Bruceruth1988 wrote in post #19452949
I don't know the difference between full frames and crop body.
I am probably looking for used but I don't know enough about the digital tech to know for sure.
Any chance I can use my old lenses?

Possibly. Some 3rd party adapters might be available but I it may be a long shot with your gears age.

Bruceruth1988 wrote in post #19452949
I don't know the difference between full frames and crop body.

Any chance I can use my old lenses?

Full frame (FF) image sensors are about the same size as 35mm film--it's an unfortunate term since larger image sensors exist. But most camera manufacturers offer FF options. Crop sensors are smaller and more cost effective. Even smaller are Micro Four Thirds. There's advantages and disadvantages to the size sensor you choose. You owe yourself at least a bit of self education on this information before your purchase as some of the topics are debatable and it will likely exceed this bandwidth of this thread.

But, one advantage to a smaller sensor is that your telephoto lenses will effectively have longer reach than they do on FF.

I recommend you view images on threads here in the subject matters that interest you and take note of the equipment being used as reflected in the exif data above the images. You can also visit sites like flickr.com and search for keywords such as safari to see the equipment that the photographers use.

My $0.02 is that mirrorless is the way to go. I won't recommend a particular manufacturer. I think most will agree that good and bad comes along with any choice.

As for adapting your legacy Minolta lenses just search for adapters using the lens mount you have to see what might fit on the camera system you're considering.

And welcome to the world of digital photography.

Pick up a used Rebel (crop body) or something like that and an EFS 18 to 55 and 55 to 250 STM lenses. The Lenses are inexpensive and have very good IQ for the price. You will have a good range of coverage. The body is a DSLR.

Ask before getting the lenses (if you do that) as there are a few different

digital paradise wrote in post #19452989
Pick up a used Rebel (crop body) or something like that and an EFS 18 to 55 and 55 to 250 STM lenses. The Lenses are inexpensive and have very good IQ for the price. You will have a good range of coverage. The body is a DSLR.

Ask before getting the lenses (if you do that) as there are a few different

I went from a Rebel XSi to the 7D2 because it had a noisy maximum ISO of 1200. That is an old camera that I continue to use for landscapes or images in good light. My point is that a newer Rebel should be considered, such as a T8i or T7i over an older one for wildlife. I've gotten some nice wildlife images with an XSi but the newer ones will give you more resolution for cropping and a higher maximum ISO for images at dawn and dusk, when there is less light. For a safari, I'd consider 500 mm a minimum focal length for a long lens although I agree the 18-55 and 55-250 kit lenses are quite good. I still use them with my 7D2. I agree with the general premise that a Rebel is good for someone new to digital cameras, I simply note that the term "Rebel" encompasses a number of camera with a range of capabilities.

Capn Jack wrote in post #19452995
I went from a Rebel XSi to the 7D2 because it had a noisy maximum ISO of 1200. That is an old camera that I continue to use for landscapes or images in good light. My point is that a newer Rebel should be considered, such as a T8i or T7i over an older one for wildlife. I've gotten some nice wildlife images with an XSi but the newer ones will give you more resolution for cropping and a higher maximum ISO for images at dawn and dusk, when there is less light. For a safari, I'd consider 500 mm a minimum focal length for a long lens although I agree the 18-55 and 55-250 kit lenses are quite good. I still use them with my 7D2. I agree with the general premise that a Rebel is good for someone new to digital cameras, I simply note that the term "Rebel" encompasses a number of camera with a range of capabilities.

Thanks. I don’t know much about the Rebels, etc. I had from 20D to 50D and 7D and 7D2.

digital paradise wrote in post #19453031
Thanks. I don’t know much about the Rebels, etc. I had from 20D to 50D and 7D and 7D2.

Rebels are the entry-level Canon dSLR...they have a sensor about 15mm x 22.5mm, or what can be called 'Canon crop' (crop varies a bit by brand...Nikon not = Canon for sensor dimensions). Rebels have shorter lifetime shutters, whereas bodies like 7DII are 'prosumer' and have longer shutter actuations life expectancy. For buying used, a 7DII (Canon classifies it as 'prosumer') has a longer lifetime remaining than a 7TI (a 'Rebel') so is the wiser purchase when both have same shutter actuations count, as less likely to have most of its shutter life used up. But that is a generalization...a Rebel with 20000 shutter actuations has more shutter life left than a 7DII with 125000 actuations.

BTW, since you are considering mirrorless, the R7 (Canon's first APS-C sized mirrorless) has specs and features more like a somehwat lower end Canon (60D to 90D) than it does a 'prosumer' (7DII) set of features...but it is not a 'mirrorless Rebel'